Review: The Unit – I Won’t Die

The novelty of two-piece bands has worn pretty thin in an equally short space of time. Mainly because many jumped on the bandwagon and the lack of ideas proved there’s only so much you can do with two instruments.

The Unit make a sound I’ve not heard before from a two-piece. It’s raw and aggressive rock and roll with forays into metal with a punk attitude for good measure. Debut album I Won’t Die is a great introduction to the band. Front and centre is Sofi Savage with her voice which would make Lzzy Hale jealous. Snarling and screaming in equal measure, her throaty drawl lends a dirty, grungy quality to the music.

Alongside that, there’s the heavily distorted guitars. “Hide”’s opening riff reverbrates, sounding tangible, almost as if it’s in the room with you. Opening track “The Black” is similar as it stomps in a zig-zag pattern. The punk-tinged riffs contain plenty of groove and a ballsy swagger and sneer to top things off.

Meanwhile, drummer Hutch Hostile assaults his drumkit with fervour on tracks like “All That’s Left” and “Away From Me”. You can hear he’s using a minimal setup but he uses it to maximum effect. It blends well with Savage’s complex tones and melodies, reacting against each other, continuously upping the ante for the other to mount an assault.

I Won’t Die is a short but sweet affair. It breaks fresh ground using the two-piece model to create a fairly unique sound. It’s hard to find specific influences in their dirty punk-infused rock. Instead, just have a listen and you’ll likely find a gem between the myriad of sounds they’ve collated. Between the pair of them, Savage and Hostile have created a distorted, raw rock with a wealth of flavours baked into the core of it.